


Of Monsters and Magic

by xxDustNight88



Series: Make the Dust Fly [20]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Care of Magical Creatures, F/M, Halloween, Magical Tattoos, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 20:11:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16456451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/pseuds/xxDustNight88
Summary: Researching late one Halloween night, Draco is transported to Moscow where he encounters Natasha and a magical creature that has an agenda of its own.





	Of Monsters and Magic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mrs_Colette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Colette/gifts).



> I know it's been ages but here is something fun and new! This was written for Marvelously Magical Fanfiction's #SomethingWicked18. I hope you enjoy this little one-shot. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Thank you to GaeilgeRua for allowing me to use her grammarly subscription to beta read this. Also thank you to SquarePeg72 for the last minute alpha read! Any other mistakes you find are definitely my own. Much love, xxDustNight
> 
> Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, and information belongs to those at Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers, or J.K. Rowling. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.

Following in his godfather's footsteps, Draco had always wanted to become a Potions master. That's why he was currently studying to be an apprentice in one of the wizarding community's most prestigious Potions program. However, he was a bit behind having slacked off during his sixth year and not really attending much of school during the latter part of the war. He spent many nights alone in his makeshift lab, researching and studying the course material so that he may test into the program.

Presently, it was Halloween, and all his friends were out at parties or the pub celebrating the festivities. He'd been invited, of course, but had turned down every invite so that he could research instead. There would be time for celebrations after he made it into the program and then earned his mastery. This was all very much in the future, but Draco was determined not to fail. Aside from Granger, who always seemed to have top marks, he'd always been one of the very best at potions. He would get this. There was no doubt about that.

So that was why Draco was all alone on Halloween night, researching the different ingredients that he could use to create an altered form the  _Felix Felicis_. Idly, he wandered through the library of the ancient Malfoy Manor, the tips of his fingers ghosting over the spines of books placed on the shelves long ago. He was the first in many years to venture into this part of the library. The Dark Lord had never trusted anyone but Snape to brew his potions and his godfather had no need to read books. He had all the potions memorised. Someday, Draco hoped to be just as skilled.

Deciding at random which text to select next, Draco slipped the tome from the shelf and returned to his chair by the fireplace. Honestly, he had no idea whether or not the text would help him but it was getting late, and he was tired. After this one, he would have something to eat and then retire for the night. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly and then opened the old, tattered cover. He began scanning the pages, his eyes trailing over the words. Only, he barely made it three pages in when he started to feel an odd tingling sensation overtaking his mind.

Alarmed, Draco tried to toss the book aside. Apparently, it contained some very Dark magic, and he had been too tired and distracted to recognise it right away. It was too late now, he thought as the tingling moved throughout his body and his eyes grew heavy. As consciousness slipped from him, Draco idly realised that the tingling resembled that of a Portkey. His last conscious thought was that wherever he was heading, he hoped that his wand came with him…

* * *

Natasha slipped quickly into the darkness of the alleyway. She was following what she suspected to be some otherworldly being and was hopeful it didn't have extraterrestrial skills that would allow it to spot her before she captured it herself. She didn't have much experience with aliens, aside from when the Chitauri invaded New York. And Thor and Loki, of course. This being, whatever it may be, didn't resemble anything she'd seen before and that left her slightly unsure.

Her goal was to incapacitate it so that she could at the very least catalogue the information. If she could do that, then she could call in reinforcements to take it to Avengers headquarters. Moscow was a long way from New York, though, and she couldn't be sure that her sedatives would keep it under long enough for travel. Nevertheless, Wilson and Barnes were only a couple hundred miles away if she ended up needing backup or the mission went sideways.

Unholstering one of the guns from her belt, Nat quietly inched her way toward the darkest end of the alley. She was nearly there when a burning sensation erupted on her wrist, causing the gun to drop from her hand. Hissing, she pressed her back against the wall and peeled back the edge of her sleeve. There, on the pale skin of her wrist was a fresh tattoo of a waxing gibbous moon. Natasha's eyes went wide with surprise.

"What the…?" she whispered into the darkness, smoothing her thumb over the ink. Before she could think further on the sudden appearance of the tattoo, there was a dull thud to her right that was quickly followed by a groan. Quickly returning to her assassin mindset, Nat retrieved her fallen gun and aimed it at the newcomer. "Who's there?" she hissed. "Show yourself."

"Fuck," came the mumbled reply.

There was a shuffling as the person stumbled to their feet. Nat kept her gun trained on them, eyes narrowed in the near darkness of the alley. It was difficult to see, but this man had extremely light blond hair and piercing grey eyes that glittered in the minimal moonlight. There was something special to this man, that much Nat could sense just by looking at him.

"Who are you?" she calmly asked, her gun aimed between his eyes. She was nothing if not careful when it came to missions like this. One false move and she could be critically injured, or worse…

Draco hesitated to answer, having no idea who this woman was, but he knew what a Muggle gun was and had no intention of winding up dead so far from home. Clearing his throat, he introduced himself, "I'm Draco Malfoy. May I ask who you are and where we are at?"

Seeming satisfied with his answer, Draco was glad to see the woman, who looked like she was trained to kill on the spot, lowered her gun. She didn't, however, put it away. It was then that he realised that his wand was not in his pocket. He was defenceless and in an unknown location. This was not ideal… Maybe he should have taken Blaise and Theo up on their offer of going to the pub after all...

Knowing she shouldn't tell this man who she was, Nat decided there really was nothing else to lose at this point. She was at a loss at what to do about this monster, and maybe he could help. Besides, she felt oddly comfortable with his presence, despite his somewhat irregular way of arrival. Reholstering her gun, Nat stuck out her hand. "I'm Natasha, but I'm more commonly known as the Black Widow these days. We're in Moscow, by the way.

"That helps a bit," Draco told her, taking the offered hand and shaking. He felt an off stinging at his wrist but ultimately ignored it. It was probably just sore from when he landed not so gracefully on the dirty alley ground. "So what are you doing lurking about in the darkness… Heavily armed?"

"I'm tracking what I believe is an alien creature," Nat explained as they released hands. "I suspect it's come here to scout out our planet before an invasion."

"What does it look like?" Draco asked, wholly curious about the possibility of an alien here amongst them. He magical world was full of creatures, many of which muggles believed to be monsters. Maybe he could shed some light on what was happening here in Moscow.

Pulling out her phone, Nat showed Draco the pictures of the monster she'd taken before darkness had settled on the city. "This is the creature. I believe it's come here from another world or even universe. I've seen creatures before, and this one could be anything. I've never seen anything like it before though."

Draco narrowed his eyes as he examined the images. He had some experience with mobile phones, thankfully. Chuckling as he realised what he was looking at, Draco lifted his gaze to Natasha's curious stare. "This isn't an alien. It's not even from another world. Well, to you maybe it is."

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked, stowing the phone back in her pocket.

"It's from this planet, but not a world you are used to. It's from my world," Draco began to explain. "I'm a wizard, and this is a magical creature."

"A wizard…" Nat trailed off, her mind immediately going to Wanda and Dr Strange. She had a feeling Draco was referring to a different type of wizard though. "Explain," she said simply, and then hastened to add, "And make it quick, this thing has been wreaking havoc on Moscow since I arrived."

Draco smirked and then had to bite back a laugh when Natasha glared at him. "That's rather interesting, actually. Tell me, have you had any other strange occurrences when encountering the creature?"

Nat wanted to tell him about the tattoo on her wrist and how she felt compelled to come to Moscow in the first place, but something kept her from saying anything. She had no idea who this man-wizard-was or if he was even willing to help her out. Instead, she decided to ask a few questions of her own. Tugging him further into the darkness, she made sure no one could see or hear them.

"Where did you come from? You weren't here and then suddenly you were." She deserved a proper explanation before they went any further tonight.

Now it was Draco's turn to frown. "I'm from England. Wiltshire to be specific. I was researching in my library when I found an interesting book. As I was reading it, I began to feel weird and then, suddenly, I was here," Draco explained, trying to recall what exactly the book had said before he disappeared from the manor. To be honest, he had a feeling it didn't matter all that much.

"Is that normal?" Nat asked, "To just appear someplace unexpected?"

"It can be… But not that often," Draco said, running a hand nervously through his blond hair. "Normally one has to have a place in mind. I was just working. Nothing special."

Storing this information away, Nat decided this entire situation was fifty shades of weird. "Alright then, wizard, tell me about this monster."

"It's a tracking creature," Draco said trying to remember what he learned in the few decent lessons of Care of Magical Creatures he'd paid attention to at Hogwarts. "It tracks individuals and brings them together for specific purposes."

"Care to elaborate on that?" Nat inquired, scanning the alleyway for any disturbances. After all, the monster had come through this specific alley numerous times today. It could be back at any time.

"I don't remember much," Draco admitted suddenly feeling somewhat disappointed in himself for slacking off during Care of Magical Creatures. Natasha was a rather stunning woman, and he wouldn't mind being able to impress her right now. Only, she didn't seem much like the type to fall for that sort of thing.

"What are they called?" Nat asked, taking hold of Draco's arm and guiding him to the mouth of the alley. She was having a hard time ignoring the fact that Draco was rather handsome and that when their hands touched her new tattoo tingled.

"It's an  _anima canis_ , if I recall correctly," Draco said, smiling as Nat's eyes lit up in the darkness.

"Translates to soul hound," she muttered. "That's an odd name for a tracking creature. You said it brings people together?"

"I never really thought about it," Draco said with a laugh. "I was too busy trying to screw with Hagrid and Potter in school to fully pay attention."

"I'm not going to even ask." Nat laughed, seeing the look of smug satisfaction on Draco's face and knowing full well he was probably a little shit in school. Deciding she was going to need his help anyway, she dug around her jacket for a suitable disguise. "Here, put this on," Nat told him as she handed over a mask and gloves. "We don't need you recognised or remembered."

"What about you?" Draco asked as he slipped on the gloves and then the mask. He probably looked ridiculous, but it was Halloween after all. Why not indulge in a bit of a costume and hunt out some magical creatures?

"I'm well trained in the art of staying hidden in plain sight." Now was not the time to go into her horrid past. Maybe there would be time for that later. "Now zip that pretty little mouth of yours. We've got a monster to catch."

"Yes, Ma'am," Draco replied with a smirk, earning him yet another glare. Although this one may have been laced with a different kind of heat. He was hoping he wasn't mistaken in that. There would be time to play later.

* * *

Sometime later that night, Draco and Nat found themselves racing after the  _anima canis_  until they had it cornered on an abandoned metro car. Once cornered, the creature turned and set its orange stare upon them before letting out a most ferocious growl. It sounded both angry at being caught and thrilled at having found its own prey. The noise had the desired effect, causing both Draco and Natasha to stop in their tracks as something surprising happened.

Natasha hissed and grabbed at her wrist at the same time Draco did. Their eyes met, and then they both silently agreed to show one another what they had been hiding. Slowly, they slid their sleeves up and revealed matching tattoos. Nat's eyes went wide, but Draco merely laughed and shook his head.

"What?" Nat snapped, wanting to know what he was thinking.

"I think I know what the creature was tracking," he muttered, staring at Natasha as if seeing her for the first time.

"What's that?" she asked, a bit breathless from the pain in her wrist and the way Draco was staring at her. It made her heart beat faster in both uncertainty and anticipation.

"It tracks souls that are meant to be bound. It was tracking us. That's how I ended up here in Moscow tonight. The creature brought me to the alley just when you were going to be there." It sounded crazy, Draco knew, but it was precisely what he perceived to be true. He could feel it in his soul, and their matching tattoos were proof of that. There was a waxing gibbous moon in the sky, and here they were thrust together in the hunt for the creature.

"You're joking," Nat said in exasperation, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew there was no denying this. "We're soulmates?"

"So it would seem," Draco said, taking a step closer and tucking a strand of hair behind Natasha's ear. "You seem surprised."

"You're not?"

"Magic is sort of my area," Draco replied smoothly. "Nothing really surprises me anymore."

"What do we do about this thing," Natasha asked now. "How do we get rid of it?"

"I think there's only one way to do that," Draco replied, his voice lowering as his gaze settled on Natasha's plump lips. "If you're up for it, that is."

Chuckling, Nat sent Draco a smirk grand enough to rival his before snacking a hand behind his neck. "I think that after the day I had, I'm up for anything." Then she pulled Draco in close and captured his lips in a kiss that sent them both reeling. It was entirely not what either of them expected but exactly what they needed.

As the two kissed, the  _anima canis_  vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but a crackle of fireworks in its wake. Its job was finished, and it was time to move onto the next unsuspecting couple that needed to find one another. As the fireworks faded, Draco and Natasha continued to kiss, their souls happy for the first time in ages.

**Author's Note:**

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